Bushwick Gets Its First Historic District

When Carlotta Williams moved to Linden Street in the late 1980s, the neighborhood was different from today’s Bushwick. The bright corner coffee shop didn’t exist. The renovated townhouse down the street wasn’t listed for over $2.1 million. But despite the signs of development and modernization, Linden Street has held steadfast to its past.  

One block of Linden Street, from Broadway to Bushwick Avenue has remained virtually unchanged—on the outside, at least. Williams had watched as her neighbors grew up and raised families in the same centuries-old brownstones. Now, thanks to a unanimous vote from the Landmarks Preservation Commission this past May, the block of 32 brick and brownstones will be preserved indefinitely as part of Bushwick’s very first historic district.